I'm hoping I can get some guidance, I sure need it! We just bought a house built in '45, but it appears that the room with the fireplace was built in the mid '60s. The fireplace is on a wall that is all brick with a brick bench about 2.5' high & wide going along the bottom, and a small tile area on the ground in front of all that. There is no wood mantel, and the wall is an outside wall. We had the chimney inspected prior to purchase and here is the information I was given: the chimney is cracked along the roofline, most likely occurred during the '89 Loma Prieta earthquake. The inspector told me that it was safe as it stands because there is a liner in the chimney, but we can't burn open fires in the fireplace because the liner isn't big enough to draw. We need to do an insert so that we can use the liner, which must be left intact to preserve the integrity of the chimney.
So that's the history as I know it. The liner is presumably also from the '60's, and it seems complete from what I've seen liners should look like-- it has plating in the fireplace, is sealed where it comes out of the chimney, has a rain-cap, etc. It is oval shaped and the opening is 13.25" long and 5" wide.
We don't have the funds currently to purchase a new insert, but I found one used on craigslist that I'm going to check out, it was pulled out of a home by a contractor who is remodeling the home. He said he's been using it to keep the house heated while they work on the home and it works quite well. It is a Buck stove and has the face plate (? not sure if that's the right term) that would seal around the outside of the fireplace. It is advertised that it would fit a fireplace 26-31" tall and 36-42" wide; ours is 27" tall and 40" wide in the front, so it seems like it will be a good fit (I'm waiting for further measurements from the seller to guarantee that the length and back width will work).
My primary concern is how we are going to match up the rectangular opening on the insert with the large oval opening of the liner. I don't think we'll have a lot of wiggle room, about 4" from the top of the insert to the top of the fireplace. Maybe that is good wiggle room, I don't know. Will I need to have a custom adapter made to fit these two together? Any input and ideas is appreciated!
thanks.
So that's the history as I know it. The liner is presumably also from the '60's, and it seems complete from what I've seen liners should look like-- it has plating in the fireplace, is sealed where it comes out of the chimney, has a rain-cap, etc. It is oval shaped and the opening is 13.25" long and 5" wide.
We don't have the funds currently to purchase a new insert, but I found one used on craigslist that I'm going to check out, it was pulled out of a home by a contractor who is remodeling the home. He said he's been using it to keep the house heated while they work on the home and it works quite well. It is a Buck stove and has the face plate (? not sure if that's the right term) that would seal around the outside of the fireplace. It is advertised that it would fit a fireplace 26-31" tall and 36-42" wide; ours is 27" tall and 40" wide in the front, so it seems like it will be a good fit (I'm waiting for further measurements from the seller to guarantee that the length and back width will work).
My primary concern is how we are going to match up the rectangular opening on the insert with the large oval opening of the liner. I don't think we'll have a lot of wiggle room, about 4" from the top of the insert to the top of the fireplace. Maybe that is good wiggle room, I don't know. Will I need to have a custom adapter made to fit these two together? Any input and ideas is appreciated!
thanks.
